The City of Alakanuk operates the piped water and sewer system, the central watering point, flush tank and haul system, and washeteria/sauna service. The City Council is the policy making body for the Utility.
Construction began in 1995 to provide piped water and sewer to 170 homes and the school. In 1998, 83 homes, the school and teacher's housing were first connected. Today, there are 132 utility customers hooked up to the system. Water is derived from the slough, treated, stored in a tank, and piped to most of the community. New facilities include a water treatment plant, heated 300,000-gallon water storage tank, vacuum sewage plant, sewage lagoon, arctic piping and household plumbing. The new subdivision has been completed with all homes connected to the piped system. The new subdivison has been completed with all homes connected to the piped system. A pipeline under the river to provide service to a small number of customers on the north side was studied, but considered too expensive to build and operate.

RUBA Status & Activities This Qtr:

After meeting all essential management criteria in March, RUBA staff has continued to monitor Alakanuk. The city has submitted monthly finance reports to document continued compliance and sound management. Contact with the Village Safewater (VSW)Engineer assigned to Alakanuk confirms that the sanitation project is moving forward. The Remote Maintenance Worker (RMW) for Alakanuk has been hired to be the project manager for connecting the city office, a church and eight homes to the water/sewer service. These new connections will provide additional revenue to the utility. These connections are expected to be complete in the first quarter of FY09.
A new RUBA hire in Bethel, expected to start in July, will be assigned Alakanuk. A trip to the community will be scheduled as soon as possible.

RUBA Activities for the Coming Qtr:

RUBA staff will monitor monthly finance reports and assist city accounting staff in developing an easier report format. RUBA will schedule another on-site visit to work with the manager on personnel issues.

Scores:

Essential Indicators:

27 of
27

Sustainable Indicators:

19 of
27

Total Score:

46 of
54

Finances

Essential Indicators

Answer

Question

Yes

All revenues and expenses for the utility are listed in the utility budget.

Yes

The utility has adopted a balanced realistic budget.

Yes

Monthly financial reports are prepared and submitted to the policy making board.

Yes

The utility is current in paying all water/wastewater electric bills.

Yes

The utility has on hand a year's adequate fuel supply or it has a financial plan to purchase an adequate supply.

Yes

The utility is receiving revenues (user fees or other sources) sufficient to cover operating expenses.

Monthly finance reports are prepared as two separate documents. RUBA staff will work with Alakanuk staff to develop a single simple report which will compile all finance information on one page and make it easier for the governing body to read and understand. The monthly expenditure report lists, by department, the adopted budget, the month-to-date, the year-to-date and the amount remaining. The revenue report is by month and year-to-date. RUBA staff will work with city staff to incorporate the adopted revenue budget in future reports.
The city is current on paying all water/wastewater bills to Alaska Village Electric Coopertive (AVEC).
The city has fuel storage capacity of 40,000 gallons. The utility fuel is metered with an average of 12,500 gallons used annually.
Presently the utility serves 119 residential customers, 4 commercial customers, and 7 metered customers piped water and sewer. Three residents and one commercial customer receive regular water delivery.

Accounting Systems

Essential Indicators

Answer

Question

Yes

The utility has adopted a collection policy and actively follows it.

Yes

The utility bills customers on a regular basis.

Yes

An accounts receivable system is in place which tracks customers and reports past due accounts and amounts.

Yes

An accounts payable system is in place.

Yes

The payroll system correctly calculates payroll and keeps records.

Yes

A cash receipt system is in place that records incoming money and how it was spent.

Yes

The utility has a cash disbursement system that records how money was spent.

Sustainable Indicators

Answer

Question

Yes

A chart of accounts is used that identifies categories in a reasonable, usable manner.

Yes

Monthly bank reconciliations have been completed for all utility accounts.

Yes

The utility has a purchasing system that requires approval prior to purchase, and the approval process compares proposed purchases to budgeted amounts.

Accounting Systems Comments

The utility issues joint monthly statements for both water and sewer. They are changing the collection procedure to shorten the 90 day grace period after a bill is issued and prior to disconnection. QuickBooks Pro is used for all accounting functions including payroll, accounts receivable and accounts payable. The utility opeartor also keeps a copy of any invoce submitted for payment and checks with the clerk to see if payment has been issued. This works as an internal check and balance system.
When operators need to purchase items, they research vendor information and submit the request to administration. The rquest is checked against the budget and a purchase is approved or denied.

Tax Problems

Essential Indicators

Answer

Question

Yes

The utility has a system to accurately calculate, track, and report payroll tax liabilities.

Yes

The utility is current on filing tax reports.

Yes

The utility is current on making tax deposits.

Yes

If there are any past due tax liabilities or recorded tax liens, a lien release has been issued or a repayment agreement has been signed and repayments are current.

Tax Problems Comments

Recent IRS tax liens have been released and a repayment agreement signed and approved. The IRS states that the city is meeting the repayment schedule and has deemed the city compliant at this time.

Personnel System

Essential Indicators

Answer

Question

Yes

The utility has a posted workers compensation insurance policy in effect.

Sustainable Indicators

Answer

Question

Yes

The utility has adopted and uses a Personnel Policy, which has been reviewed by an attorney, AML or Commerce for topics and language.

Yes

The utility has adequate written job descriptions for all positions.

No

The utility has adopted and follows a written personnel evaluation process that ties the job description to the evaluation.

No

The utility has an adequate written hiring process.

No

The utility has personnel folders on every employee that contain at least: I-9, Job Application and Letter of Acceptance.

No

The utility has a probationary period for new hires that includes orientation, job training/oversight, and evaluations.

Yes

The utility provides training opportunities to staff as needed and available.

Personnel System Comments

The City of Alakanuk has a posted worker's compensation insurance policy from Umialik Insurance Company for the period of February 12, 2008 through February 12, 2009. This insurance policy covers utility staff and city workers.
The city has an adopted Personnel Policy which was originally reviewed by Commerce. RUBA staff will work with the city to review it and suggest revisions as new employee/employer laws have changed. All staff are at-will hire. On-site training is initially provided when hired with travel and off-site training allowed and encouraged as funding permits.

Organizational Management

Essential Indicators

Answer

Question

Yes

The entity that owns the utility is known; the entity that will operate the utility is set.

Yes

The policy making body is active in policy making of the utility.

Yes

The policy making body enforces utility policy.

Yes

The utility has an adequately trained manager.

Yes

The utility has an adequately trained bookkeeper.

Yes

The utility has an adequately trained operator or operators.

Yes

The utility has adopted the necessary ordinances (or rules and regulations) necessary to give it the authority to operate.

Sustainable Indicators

Answer

Question

Yes

The utility has adopted an organizational chart that reflects the current structure.

Yes

The policy making body meets as required.

Yes

The utility complies with the open meeting act for all meetings.

Organizational Management Comments

The utility is managed by the City of Alakanuk. The city council meets regulary and is active in enforcing colections and adopting new policies. Recently they researched utility revenues and expenses and determined user fees were not meeting expenses. A proposed rate increase was adopted and will begin May 1,2008. The collection policy is also being revised to shorten the grace period for non-payment/disconnection from 90 days to 45 days.
The manager recently attended the first course (Introduction to Management of Rural Utilities) of the series of RUBA sponsored management classes in Bethel.

Operation of Utility

Essential Indicators

Answer

Question

Yes

The utility operator(s) are actively working towards necessary certification.

Yes

The utility has a preventative maintenance plan developed for the existing sanitation facilities.

Sustainable Indicators

Answer

Question

Yes

The manager receives a monthly O&M report from the utility operator and routinely "spot checks" the facilities to see that the maintenance items are being completed.

Yes

The utility has a safety manual and holds safety meetings.

Yes

Utility facilities have not suffered any major problems/outages due to management issues that are unresolved.

Yes

The utility is operating at the level of service that was proposed.

Yes

The operator provides status reports to the manager on a routine basis.

Yes

The utility has completed and distributed its "Consumer Confidence Report".

No

The utility is not on the "Significant Non-Complier" (SNC) list.

Yes

The utility maintains an inventory control list.

Yes

The utility maintains a critical spare parts list.

Operation of Utility Comments

The City of Alakanuk currently operates a Water Treatment 2 system, a Water Distribution 2 system, and a Wasterwater Collection 1 system. They have three part-time operators who are all working toward varying degrees of certification. The lead operator was an opeartor for 24+ yaers but allowed hi certification to lapse. He will retake the test in Bethel in April.
The Alakanuk system is on the Significant Non-Compliance list for Stage 1 and Surface Water violations. The system recently fully installed the necessary equipment for continuous recording or CFE turbity data, but they are still trying to work through some operational issues.
RUBA will work with the city to draft a safety manual and assist in revising it to Alakanuk's needs.